Here’s what is called Zombie School via Greg Nicotero and the Walking Dead crew.  Season 4 of The Walking Dead started filming this weekend and it seems the zombies on the crew get a one day training session called “zombie school.”  There teacher knows more than a little bit about the subject matter as Nicotero learned with the master, George Romero way back in the day.

For those that missed our announcing of the winners on Fangirl Radio last week, here is the list of our winners in the Walking Dead Survival Instinct Giveaway!

LOLA U  - PS3 GAME

ELIN STEMME – PS3 GAME

CASSIE KRAMER – PS3 GAME

CHAD JOHNS – PS3 GAME

TODD BREESE – XBOX 360 GAME

And the winner of the signed Norman Reedus poster is!!!

TRACEY GURNEY !!!

All of you please email me your address information and full names to Jessica@fangirlmag.com so I can send you your prize!

Although the title “Regular” doesn’t mean you’ll get to live for a long run on the show, Season 4 of the Walking Dead is getting 3 new regulars.

The Hollywood Reporter tells us that Tyreese, Sasha, and Beth are now part of the shows regular crew.

Chad Coleman (Tyreese), Sonequa Martin-Green (Sasha) and Emily Kinney (Beth) will be joining Rick, Daryl, Carol, and Herschel (and the newly sorta bad seed Carl) with Maggie and Glenn as Team Prison.  David Morrissey is also on board as a regular.

The Hollywood Reporter adds:

In addition, Melissa Ponzio – who plays Karen, the lone survivor of the Governor’s attack on his own Woodbury army that helped bring peace between Tyreese and Rick in the finale — will return to the series as a recurring guest star in season four.

I’m glad about this.  I like Beth a lot and want to see how that character helps in trying to pull Carl back from the dark side.  Also Tyreese and his sister need more screen time.  Tyreese is a great character in the comics and he and Rick need to bond.  Also there’s that whole Carol/Michonne triangle thing.

Hey Gang,

Your friendly neighborhood editor is up for a Rondo this year.  It’s for my coverage of The Walking Dead in HorrorHound Magazine.  I’m beyond honored for the nomination.  If you would like to vote you can head over to the Rondo Awards website via the link below and submit your vote.  The page if informative and will let you know exactly how to submit your votes.  Just click the image and you’ll go to the site.  Voting ends APRIL 7TH!!!

If you’d like to see the issue of HorrorHound, here’s the cover.  I snagged interviews with all the cast and the creators.  It was a thrill to work on it.  And the issue is still available for purchase at the HorrorHound website.  Click the image if you’d like to go there to purchase it:

THAT’S RIGHT WALKING DEAD FANS.  THE SEASON MAY BE OVER BUT THE HORROR CONTINUES ON YOUR PS3 OR XBOX 360!  WALKING DEAD SURVIVAL INSTINCT IS HERE, AND FANGIRL MAGAZINE/FANGIRL RADIO IS GIVING YOU A CHANCE TO WIN COPIES OF THE GAME FOR THE PS3 AND XBOX 360.  BUT THE BIG BONUS IS A DARYL DIXON GAME POSTER SIGNED BY THE CROSSBOW WIELDER HIMSELF, NORMAN REEDUS.  WE HAVE 4 COPIES OF THE PS3 VERSION OF THE GAME, ONE XBOX 360, AND ONE SIGNED POSTER.  

SO HOW DO YOU WIN?

(Deadline to enter is 5PM PST April 8th)

Entries are now closed and the winners will be announced on our show THURSDAY APRIL 11 @ 5PM PST! Listen on iTunes or jackaloperadio.com
We’ll also have your names up here on the site after the show airs is case you missed it.
If you won, email jessica@fangirlmag.com with your address and she’ll send you your prize!

Read more

The Walking Dead

Arrow on the Doorpost

Recap/Review

By Jessica Dwyer

This episode of the Walking Dead is all about tension.  This is the first time the Governor and Rick meet and it’s as tense and glaring as you would ever think.  But tension isn’t just shown between these two leaders.  Back at the prison things are boiling over between Merle and Glenn.

The episode starts out it would seem at least a few days after the previous one, with Andrea having brought together the two leaders to talk out a peace accord.  It’s obvious she’s not in control of the situation Read more

Inspired by your friendly neighborhood editors reaction to the epic bridge scene of the Dixon Boys kicking ass…the lovely Goddess of Graphics Dani has plucked from Jessica’s mind The Dead of Hazzard.  Yes, Rick is Roscoe, Carol is Daisy, The Governor is Boss Hogg, and the General Lee is now in bike form with the Dixon boys never meaning no harm…well unless you are a zombie.

The Suicide King

Season 3.5 Premiere

The Walking Dead

Review/Recap

Written By Jessica Dwyer

SPOILERS

The second half of the new season of the Walking Dead begins immediately with where we left off with episode 8;  Merle and Daryl Dixon, both cornered and being yelled at by the very pissed off residents of Woodbury.  The Governor watches on, his remaining eye as cold and dead as those of the Walkers, Daryl looks scared perhaps for the first time since we’ve ever seen him.  It would appear the tag line of “Fear the Living” is appropriate as we see how people react once society has fallen and they are “governed” if you will, by the need to survive.   Norman Reedus does a great job in this scene as does Michael Rooker.  Daryl’s reaction to what is happening is telling and you can see that Merle is trying to figure it out in his head how he’s going to get his little brother out of there and save his own hide at the same time.

The Calvary arrives in the form of Rick and Maggie as they use tear gas and some well-placed (and not so well placed) fire power to rescue Daryl and (unwillingly so) Merle.  It’s during this time that Andrea gets a rude awakening on what’s been going on while she’s been playing house with “Phillip.”

It’s interesting to see the reactions by not only Maggie, Glenn and Michonne but also Rick’s reaction to Merle coming along.  Daryl’s response to them is also not surprising.  Merle of course is goading everyone on and laughing at the absurdity of it.  Daryl is trapped but his choice was made for him long ago when it came to Merle.  That’s his brother, and blood is blood.  Not even bothering to go back to the prison (he tells Rick that Carol will understand) he leaves with Merle rather than go back home without him.

This is where I have to say that this episode becomes truly more about the human interactions and about the characters and their motivations than zombies.  I think that’s one of the best parts of season 3, that it’s really ramped up the characters and letting the actors shine.  The arc of Daryl, Rick, and everyone else is really jumping ahead, especially with the relationship between Maggie and Glenn.  Glenn’s need to protect her and to prove himself to not only her and her father, but to his own sense of worth is intense.  I can only see things going badly and even darker.

When the gang arrives back at the prison we see Rick telling Carol that Daryl didn’t come back.  She’s stricken to tears by that (perhaps Daryl was wrong about her understanding.)  But later we see her talking to Beth about him.  This scene and Carol’s understanding of what makes Daryl tick is one of my favorites of the episode.

Carol tells Beth that basically Daryl is the victim of abuse, a lifetime of it really by his brother.  He’s got to break free of that hold to allow himself to be happy (or close to it) and accepted within the family he has now at the prison.  But she understands why he didn’t come back because not only is there the relationship with Merle he needs to break out from, but the code of ethics he’s got, and the world they live in now, a man like that is rare to find.

That sort of complexity comes from some great writing and the work of the actors like Reedus to give depth to what a lot of people that haven’t seen TWD probably throw away as just “that zombie show.”  Here we have an abused woman who has grown in strength of spirit and made it through the loss of her abusive husband and her only child still alive.  And she’s talking about how the character everyone considers the biggest badass of the show is a victim just like she was…and he hasn’t been able to break that cycle or that chain.

Back at Woodbury The Governor and Andrea are each dealing separately with the chaos that has ensued with the escape.  That escape has also left the town open defense wise to some Walkers who get inside.  The residence of Woodbury don’t consider themselves safe anymore and people want out.  Tensions run high and then the Walkers that managed to get inside attack.

Andrea is wondering where The Governor is in all this madness.  He’s not coming out of his apartment for whatever reason, and is letting the town feed upon itself.  So she takes command somewhat and helps take out the few Walkers who got inside.  But she can’t bring herself to shoot the still living victim of their attack.  The Governor at last appears and as unemotional as he was before, shoots the crying man in the head.

Andrea is told by the Governor after she follows him back inside that she’s got no business getting involved with Woodbury.  She’s a stranger, a visitor there.  And even if they were dancing in the sheets it didn’t mean she was going to be staying.  The Governor knows how to play people like a fiddle, and this is another one of those scenes we see it happen.  Andrea walks back outside and immediately starts telling everyone how Woodbury needs to stick together and that when the history books are written they’ll remember how “their” town survived.  Oh Andrea, you really are the queen of bad ideas and bad choices in men.

Back at the prison a decision needs to be made about Tyreese and his group staying or going.  Rick’s decision is they need to leave.  That’s not a real popular choice by everyone there…and then the figure appears on the catwalk.  The silhouette looks to be that of Lori and Rick’s reaction is not good.  While everyone thinks he’s screaming at Tyreese and his people to leave, it’s really Lori’s spirit that’s haunting him he is begging and pleading to leave.  Rick’s descent into madness isn’t quite over yet and that’s where we are left to wonder how far that descent into darkness will go.

I truly love how Rick and the Governor are still mirrors of one another.  This episode shows it again perfectly.  Rick feels too much, he can’t handle the amount of pain and sorrow, the grief he’s had to deal with upon losing everything.  His strength and clarity seem to all be personified within Carl now (maybe there is power in the hat after all.)  The Governor is in a way, the opposite.  The loss and grief have shut him down completely emotionally.  There’s nothing there within him anymore.  He’s turned into a machine.  When the two finally do meet face to face will be truly interesting to behold, because that mirror will no doubt shatter into a million jagged and blood pieces.

Daryl Dixon can come clean my house.  Shirtless.  That would be totally fine.

And here is the newly eye patched Governor in a new promo for Season 3.2

Don’t you hit my Daryl!!!